Lemon Creek Correctional Center

A medium-security regional correctional center in Juneau, Alaska — the facility serving Southeast Alaska and the state capital, holding both pretrial and sentenced men and women.

Overview

Lemon Creek Correctional Center is a correctional center operated by the Alaska Department of Corrections. It is in Juneau, the state capital, in the City and Borough of Juneau in Southeast Alaska. The facility houses men and women in medium custody and has an operating capacity of roughly 250.

Because Alaska runs a unified corrections system — the state has no separate county jails — Lemon Creek holds both people awaiting trial (a jail function) and people serving sentences in the same facility. Alaska DOC assigns one of four custody levels (Community, Minimum, Medium, Close) based on factors that include risk and needs, and a person’s custody level can change during incarceration. The custody class and housing unit held at a given facility help determine whether a visit is a contact or non-contact visit, so families confirm the arrangement that applies to the specific person before a first visit.

What Makes the Lemon Creek Correctional Center Different

Lemon Creek Correctional Center is the regional correctional center for Southeast Alaska, serving Juneau and the surrounding region of the state capital. As part of Alaska’s unified system, it holds both pretrial and sentenced people, men and women, in a single facility rather than separating jail and prison populations into different buildings.

Its location is a practical factor for visiting. Juneau is not connected to the rest of Alaska by road — it is reachable only by air or by the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry. Families who do not live in the Juneau area generally travel by plane or ferry to visit in person, which can mean significant cost and planning. Alaska DOC’s case-by-case Special Visit provision, which a facility superintendent can approve for families traveling a long distance, can be relevant in these circumstances.

Visiting

The statewide AK DOC rules above — the approved visitor list, the dress code, ID, and item limits — apply at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center. The facility’s own arrangements:

Getting There and Parking

Lemon Creek Correctional Center is at 2000 Lemon Creek Road in Juneau, in the Lemon Creek area between downtown Juneau and the Mendenhall Valley. Juneau is not on Alaska’s road system: there is no highway connecting it to the rest of the state, so visitors traveling from outside the area arrive by air through Juneau International Airport or by the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry. Within Juneau, the facility is reached by local roads off Egan Drive (Glacier Highway).

Parking is on site. Visitors confirm current entry procedures, the visitor-processing location, and what may be brought onto the grounds with the facility before arriving, because electronic devices and personal items are generally not permitted inside the visiting area.

Nearby Services

Juneau, as the state capital, has a range of lodging, dining, and services, with more options concentrated downtown and in the Mendenhall Valley. Bartlett Regional Hospital provides emergency and general medical care in Juneau. Because Juneau is reachable only by air or ferry, visitors traveling from elsewhere in Alaska or out of state generally arrange flights through Juneau International Airport or sailings on the Alaska Marine Highway System, and book lodging in advance, particularly in the summer travel season.

Mail

Alaska DOC does not use an off-site mail vendor. Incoming personal mail goes directly to the facility, where mail staff open and inspect it for contraband before delivery. Address personal mail with the person’s full name and prisoner number, the facility name, and the facility’s mailing address:

[Prisoner’s full name and number] Lemon Creek Correctional Center 2000 Lemon Creek Road Juneau, AK 99801

Use a plain white envelope and white paper, and write only in blue or black ink or pencil. Mail without a complete return address that includes the sender’s name is destroyed. Greeting cards must be commercially produced, single-fold, on standard card stock, and no larger than 6 by 8 inches. Photographs must be printed on plain white or photographic paper and unaltered. Stickers, labels, glitter, tape, and anything attached with adhesive are not allowed (postal-service labels are an exception), and sexually explicit material is prohibited.

Legal and other privileged mail (for example, mail with an attorney) goes to the facility marked “Privileged” and is handled separately. Books, magazines, newspapers, and other publications must be ordered from an approved vendor and shipped directly to the facility — a family member can place the order, but the person must have funds to pay for it in advance. Packages are accepted only from approved vendors through the commissary; friends and family cannot send gift packages. Contact the facility for its current approved-vendor list.

Learn More

• Visiting an Alaska prison — Approved visitor lists, the per-facility scheduling and appointment norms, dress code, ID, and what to expect at remote facilities.
• Sending mail in Alaska — How to address personal mail to the facility, the white-envelope rules, and how to order books, publications, and packages from approved vendors.
• Phone calls and video in Alaska — Setting up a Securus AdvanceConnect account, how calls are billed, free monthly calls, and the rules on three-way and forwarded calls.
• Sending money in Alaska — How to put money on an Offender Trust Account in person or by mail, who is allowed to deposit, accepted forms, and the monthly limit.
• Medical care in Alaska prisons — How health, dental, and mental-health care work in DOC facilities, co-pay amounts, and how to request care.
• Intake, classification, and transfers in Alaska — The booking process, the four custody levels, and how people are housed in Alaska’s unified jail-and-prison system.